More Progress in Steel Production

Iron coming from a blast furnace is called pig-iron, and still contains many impurities which have to be removed before it can be converted into steel. During the Industrial Revolution the demand for steel was so great that better and quicker methods of producing it became necessary. A big step forward was made with the invention of the `Bessemer Converter'.

Henry Bessemer (1813 - 1898) was a British civil engineer and inventor. He was elected to the London Royal Society in 1879. During his life-time he patented over a hundred inventions in various fields of technology.

Henry Bessemer's idea was that the impurities would be burned away if air was blown through molten pig-iron.

An experimental vessel to contain 7 cwts of molten pig-iron was set up in Bessemer's factory. Air pipes led into the bottom of the vessel, and when the air was turned on, huge flames and showers of sparks shot out of the mouth of the converter, followed by spurts of molten metal and slag. Bessemer and his workers could only retreat and hope for the best. They could not turn off the air because the air-valve had been placed too near to the converter. However, after ten minutes the eruption subsided and it was found that the iron was free of impurities.

The new process was widely adopted, and converters were built which could purify several tons of pig-iron in half-an-hour - an enormous improvement on previous methods. The Bessemer `blow', with flames shooting high into the air, is one of the most dramatic sights in steel manufacture.

Other methods followed, the Siemens `open hearth' furnaces were slower than the Bessemer converter but gave better control. “Electric arc' furnaces were introduced later.

Two metals, manganese and chromium, discovered in 1774, were to play an important role in steel manufacture. Small quantities of manganese in steel adds greatly to its strength. Chromium is used in the manufacture of stainless steel.

Task 1. Phonetic Exercise

Practise after the speaker and learn to pronounce the words given below.

forward /'fo:wd/; engineer / enji'ni/; royal /'rojl/; society /s`saiti/;

patent /'peitnt/; technology /tek'nolji/; experimental /eks peri'ment l/; spurt /sp :t/; subside / s b'said/; manganese / mng`ni:z/; chromium /'kroumj m/.

Task 2. Lexical Exercises

Exercise 1. Find the English equivalents for the words and word- combinations. Use them in the sentences of your own.

чугун (штыковой чугун); содержать примеси; удалять примеси; превращать в сталь; потребность в стали; инженер-строитель; выжечь; запантетовать; шлак; вантуз; модернизация ранее существующих методов; марганец; хром; увеличивать прочность; играть важную роль в производстве стали.

Exercise 2. Match the English words and word-combinations given below

with their Russian equivalents.

1. to produce steel 1. наиболее величественное зрелище

2. to make a big step forward 2. электродуговая печь

3. air pipes 3. производить сталь

4. in various fields of technology 4. надеяться на лучшее

5. to hope for the best 5. выключать

6. to adopt widely 6. вентиляционные трубы

7. to turn off 7. мартеновская печь

8. the most dramatic sight 8. сделать большой шаг вперед

9. electric arc furnace 9. принять повсеместно

10. open hearth furnace 10. в различныx областях техники

Exercise 3. Answer the following questions.

1. What differs pig-iron from steel? 2. Who made the revolution in steel industry? 3. What was the main idea of Bessemer's experiment? 4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of open hearth furnaces over Bessemer's converter? 5. How can we increase the strength of steel? 6. What is chromium used for?

Exercise 4. In the text there are some verbs which in combination with

prepositions acquire another meaning :

to set up - устанавливать, утверждать

to turn on - включать

to turn off - выключать

Such combinations are called verbal collocations. Translate the following verbal collocations into Russian and complete the sentences given below using them.

to set smth off; to set in; to set out; to turn someone down;

to turn smth in; to turn someone on; to turn out

1. Let's . . . early tomorrow. It'll take us long to get to Stratford. 2. We've had . . . his proposal. It'll be too expensive to make use of it. 3. His lectures . . . to be very interesting. 4. It's been very cold the last few days. I think the winter . . . already. 5. Rock music really . . . me. 6. Bill is a hard-working student. He . . . two essays every week. 7. He . . . to work on the project several days ago.

Exercise 5. Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.

Explain your choice.

1. The . . . of steel at Robertsbridge began in 1565.

a) production b) output c) manufacture

2. The importance of Bessemer's discovery was that . . . pig iron was transformed into steel within some thirty minutes.

a) molten b) liquid c) hard

3. In the end of the 18th century . . . of metals improved greatly with the help of new methods.

a) quantity b) quality c) number

4. One of the properties of metals is their specific . . .

a) shining b) luster c) glitter

5. All metals except mercury are . . . substances.

a) hard b) tough c) heavy

6. Converters can . . . several tons of pig iron in a short period of time.

a) clean b) clear c) purify

7. Impurities must be removed before pig iron can be . . . into steel.

a) converted b) transformed c) made

8. Chromium was . . . in 1774.

a) opened b) found c) discovered

Exercise 6. Give a written translation of the following passage.

The technique of making steel had not fallen into oblivion. In Anglo-Saxon literature many references are made to steel and also to `steeling'. Conversion of soft wrought iron into steel by cementation continued to be practised. The technique seems to have been improved by the Danes locally to satisfy the demands of small economic units.

The conquering Normans were greatly impressed by the industrial efficiency they found in England. German skilled workers were accustomed to reside in England because of the high level the Anglo- Saxon had attained in metal - making. For example, knives made in England, were valued much in France during the Middle Ages.